


The healing properties of color

by karovie, Tahemalie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Angst, Art, Children, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kid Paladins, Kids, Kindergarten, PTSD, Prosthetic Arm, Veteran Shiro, War Veteran, ptsd service dog, service dog, somewhat slowburn, veteran
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-20
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-10-21 09:45:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10682760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karovie/pseuds/karovie, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahemalie/pseuds/Tahemalie
Summary: With a degree in education from before his time in the war, Shiro got a job at a kindergarten to help him adjust to a normal life again. There he met a group of curious children, and an amazingly beautiful co worker named Allura.How would he ever survive his new job  with someone as incredible as that? Would he find the happiness he longed for or would his struggles overcome him?ON BREAK FOR UNKNOWN TIME





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> warning: war flashbacks, anxiety, PTSD
> 
> So I joined Hinata_Shouyous_thighs (or @yuriotchkya on tumblr) in writing this! We apologize for the long wait!  
> It might take a while between updates because life is a thing, but we will make sure to get this done for you :) 
> 
> We hope you enjoy this!

Shiro had always known he wanted to work with children in some way. Whether it be psychology or a teaching position. When he was a teacher, he recalled how he wanted to make sure children were happy. He hadn’t grown up the nicest way, if he was honest, so he knew from a young age already that he wanted to help children, in any way he possibly could.

 

However, that didn’t matter here. The bright, beige sand reflected the rays like a mirror would, causing Shiro to squint his eyes as he glared past the barrels he was hiding behind. The gun felt heavy in his hands, the dark metal hot. Even though he was surrounded by gunshots, the burning smell of gunpowder, and layers of loose sand lifting in the air. People were shouting in a foreign language, along with ones he was able to understand.  A voice in his earpiece rang, above all the horrors outside, giving him orders to move further down the line as soon as the gunshots died down. He peeked around the corner, getting his signal to move closer towards the building. With a small, nervous sigh -who wouldn’t be when you’re surrounded by death itself- he loaded his gun and carefully ran to the next point to hide. He swiftly scurried inside the deserted flat, hiding from the rain of gunshots.

 

If Shiro was honest, he didn’t really trust this place. The grey walls seemed to be crumbling while he was looking at them and the air reeked of dust and death. Still cautious, Shiro made his way to the staircase. He was ordered to check the area for hidden enemy soldiers, so he needed to proceed with caution. He tried his best not to think about the possibility of taking lives, though. He wouldn’t be able to continue if he did.

 

He silently sneaked across the room, checking the area. None to be found. Signs of life had been destroyed a while ago. He almost sighed of relief, but he knew he wasn’t done yet. He let his fellow soldiers know the bottom floor was clear and that he was proceeding to the next.

 

He walked up the stairs to the first floor, staying low to the concrete floor. As soon as he reached upstairs, he hid behind a half wall, trying his best to remain as quiet as possible.

 

People were talking. He didn’t understand it. Therefore it meant they were the enemy. Physically, Shiro was doing okay, but mentally, he was praying for some god-forsaken miracle. Something -anything- that could get him out of this situation.

 

That’s when a rapid beeping caught his attention. Swiftly, he turned his head in that direction, but he couldn’t place where it came from. He tried his best to run back to the stairs, but soon after, he was on the ground and vision became awfully blurry. The sound of his surroundings replaced itself with a deafening beep. A sharp pain hit in his arm as everything went pitch black.

 

**.......::::Voltron::::.......**

  


With heavy heaving, Shiro shot up from his bed. Audible, swift breaths burned in his lungs as he stared at the wall in front of him. Vision was blurry, yet sharp at the same time, as he clutched his chest. He felt his hands shake -no, hand-  as his eyes darted around the dusky room. He felt like he was choking on his breath, even wondering if he ever could breathe at all.

 

A couple of barks from behind him startled him, as he felt a nuzzle against his side. In shock, he darted his eyes to whatever it was that touched him.

 

A hazy smile filled his face as he released his breath. “Kuro,” he whispered out, relieved, as the dog made a worried huff and rested her head and paws on Shiro’s leg. The grip on his damp shirt loosened, instead timidly reaching down to touch the dog’s head, who almost aggressively bumped against it and licked it to comfort him.

 

He closed his eyes and could feel himself calm down as he reminded himself to breathe. Eight seconds in, two seconds out, A second pause. Eight seconds in… Two seconds out… A second pause. You aren’t there, Shiro. You’re here, in your bed, with Kuro in your lap.

 

He repeated the process a couple times as the pulse rapidly beating in his throat found it’s normal pace again. He blew the remaining air out of his lungs, feeling the tension loosen in his shoulders.

Even though he didn’t know how long it had been, he knew it had to be a while. When he opened his eyes, the room had turned from just being able to make out his surroundings to a way brighter light. It revealed his simple, dull bedroom of his one-man flat, not yet homely because of the short period of time he’d been living here. His eyes moved from the plain wall to the red, digital light of his alarm clock. It displayed 6:24.

 

A little bit on the early side, but it would do. There was no point in going back to sleep anyway.

 

He lifted his legs from the bed, muscles protesting, as he reached for the prosthetic arm.

 

In battle, he had lost his arm due to an exploding bomb. He had tripped over a metal bar and the rubble of a brick wall had crushed it so badly that it was beyond saving. A scar had formed on his nose from an old pipeline sticking out of the ground. The doctor had called him lucky, considering he had only partially broken his leg and crushed a rib or two. Whether it was lucky that he had to continue living with only one functioning arm, was debatable.

 

He realised he had been staring at the wall for a while, so he didn’t notice Kuro had his prosthetic ready in his mouth. It was a steel one, since he found the silicone arm to feel too much like he was a mannequin, and now it was covered in dog slime. He took it gently from the dog, gave her a praising pat on her head, as he raised on his feet to make his way to the bathroom.

 

His place was small, perhaps maybe too small for a greyhound and him, but Shiro didn’t mind. It felt cozy, after all.

 

Shrio laid the arm in the sink and grabbed cleaning supplies to gently clean off the outside and inside of the thing. It was a struggle, he had to say, because every time he wanted his other hand to help him out, the support never came. Even though he had been living like this for about a year, he still hadn’t gotten used to it.

 

His brother always offered to help if he could.

 

The psychologist had advised him not to stay alone for the first period of time, and because the last month had been going extremely well, he was allowed to live in his small apartment again. Yes, the beginning was good. But as time passed, anxiety attacks and nightmares had increased.

 

He couldn’t ask for help, though. He already asked for too much. The weekly session at the therapist would suffice, and it wasn’t like he didn’t have help at all -he had Kuro, who was standing in the doorway as he was gently dabbing his arm clean with rubbing alcohol. It took him long, but he got there. He glanced at himself in the mirror.

 

A 26-year old man stared back at him, looking tired. Small bags were under his eyes, but only Shiro would notice them. He appeared as a normal guy, maybe a little bit on the buff side, and it wasn’t every day you saw a guy with a white tuft of hair and a scar on his nose. Yet, the most odd thing about him was that his right arm ended in a stump. There were scars running across it where the doctors had done their best to patch him up.

 

He took off his shirt, pulled the elastic sleeve over his stump before he attached the prosthetic on it,making sure the cables sat good around his body. He worked the apparatus, causing the pincher to work. Amazing.

 

Today was going to be an exciting day, though. Besides the fact that it was most likely going to be sunny, he had actually applied to a teacher job a while back. He got positive feedback, so today was his first day to work. The therapist had stated that getting his mind off things and keeping himself busy with work would help him with his recovery.

 

Besides, his degree in Education would finally come in handy now. He wanted to work with children and finally, here was his opportunity. The military sure was a whole different experience, and he thought this would fit him better. It kind of was his father’s fault he enlisted into the military, anyway, since he didn’t want his son to do a ‘woman’s’ job.

 

He would turn in his grave if he heard about this.

 

He threw his shirt over his shoulder before he walked back to his bedroom, opening the doors of his closet (with a little help from Kuro). He quickly changed ,or tried to, into comfortable work clothing.

 

You never know how much you need both hands until you lose one. The first weeks he’d had to ask his half-brother, Aiden, to help him with it. It was definitely awkward the first time around, but they both got used to it. Aiden’s kid was filled with pride because his uncle needed to be dressed too. He loved that kid.

 

Shiro made his way to the kitchen, opening a few cupboards to make a simple breakfast for himself. While waiting for the coffee to be done, he leaned against the counter, glancing around his flat. The kitchen looked out over the living room, all consisting of relatively warm shades of brown. The walls were barely decorated here, too, but a few drawings from his nephew were on it, causing him to smile every time he looked at them. It made Shiro realise how much he’d like to have kids of his own one day. Frankly, he missed the boy, but it brought him joy that he would be teaching his class. How that would go, he didn’t know exactly.

 

When his coffee was ready, he took it with him to the balcony. Kuro opened the door for him before he even had the chance to put down his cup. He briefly thanked the girl before he stepped outside.

 

It was relatively chilly outside, but he could feel that today was going to be nice. A few birds were chirping their morning song as the rising sun cast her light over the urban area. A faint layer of mist covered the ground, swirling between different buildings of similar heights. He looked out over a moderately busy street, so when it was calm like now, it almost felt odd.

 

Kuro found her way to the balcony too, and had suited herself behind him. He briefly glanced at the dog, causing her to leave out a small bark. He chuckled, clearing his throat.

 

“I know girl. I need to finish my coffee, and then we’ll go for a walk,” he smiled. Kuro seemed to know what he meant, causing her tongue to hang outside her muzzle and her tail to sweep over the balcony floor.

 

There was something therapeutic about the approaching of dawn. It almost reminded him of resurrection. Slowly, more lights would flick on in people’s bedrooms, the whooshing of cars passing his home would become more frequent and cooing of pigeons indicated they woke up too. While the sun nurtured the world, the moon would let it rest, keeping everything at peace. Without the sun, everything would be cold, but without the moon, the cycle of day wouldn’t be able to restart.

 

Gosh, he sounded like a poet. Maybe he should start writing some one day, if he didn’t forget.

 

By the time Shiro had emptied his mug, the sun was already completely visible. He should really start his walk with Kuro, if he wanted to be on time at work. He walked back inside, cleaned up his stuff, and set off to walk his excited service dog.

  


**.......::::Voltron::::.......**

  


The walk he had taken was longer than he usually did, but it was nice. He was relatively sleepy before, but getting his muscles going really helped him wake up. Shiro might make this a part of his routine, if his body allowed it.

 

The way he woke up today wasn’t even that bad. Sure, remembering and dreaming about how he lost his arm wasn’t fun either, but he was used to something different. Normally, they were about random encounters on the front line, shooting people through their heads and legs and chests. Shiro had taken lives, fifteen to be exact. He had taken away fifteen people, who had a family, a significant other, perhaps even a child. It was his troop’s fault that he knew that. They saw it as a game. They were the enemy, after all, so why should they care?

 

Shiro didn’t think like that. No -he’d been raised with the idea of mutual respect, and quite frankly, being killed didn’t seem like something respectful. At least, not like that. It even baffled him that he managed to be in the military for a year.

 

No, now was not the time to think about this. Shiro needed to focus now. The building he was standing before was somewhat small for a school. The windows were covered with different types of drawings, and the bricks had traces of chalk on them. It was still relatively early, so the playground looked deserted. It almost gave off an eerie vibe. Several teachers were walking into the building, though, and some seemed to stare at Shiro for a little too long.

 

Luckily for him, the kindergarten was at a reasonable distance from his home, so he could easily get there by foot. He didn’t have to mess around with busses or carpooling, at least. The thing that caused him most trouble, though, was that Kuro wasn’t by his side. He’d rather have her with him, mostly because he was relatively clumsy with only one properly working arm. If he was going to work alone, it would be difficult.

 

He stepped inside the building, which revealed an almost sugary setting. The bright blue of the walls fought for dominance with the yellow floor. The hallways were decorated with all kinds of drawings and crafts, waiting to get dry and be taken home at the end of the day. Any normal person would be thrown off by the lack of a cohesive color palette, but Shiro loved it.

 

There were several people in their classrooms already, preparing materials for the day. He didn’t dwell in the area for much longer, and instead went to the common room for the teachers, where he was told to meet up with his new boss.

 

As soon as he entered the room, he was met with his excited man. He was slightly smaller than him, appearing to be in his 50s. Behind his glasses peeked dark eyes. Shiro had never seen so much forced happiness at once.  He opened his arms, a big smile on his face.

 

“Ah, if it isn’t Takashi Shirogane!” he exclaimed, reaching out to shake Shiro’s hand. “I’m so happy to have you on the team.”

 

Shiro smiled politely as he felt the firm grasp of his hands. “The pleasure’s mine, really,” he replied, pulling his hand back. “I’m happy to be here.”

 

The boss let out a forced laugh before he took a sip of his coffee. “Well, I showed you around last time, so I’ll be bringing you to your classroom. Your co-worker is on the late side, like usual, so i expect you to prepare some materials. There’s a schedule in a binder somewhere, so you know what to grab.”

 

Shiro nodded in response, letting his boss take the lead. He walked at a rather slow pace, so it took some time for him to adjust to it. It wasn’t far from the teacher’s room, so if he was walking alone, he would be there sooner. Guess that came from all the marching he used to do.

 

When they arrived, his boss opened the door to reveal a mediocre-sized room, filled with oddly bright pictures and tiny wooden chairs. There were multiple sections that held different toys and a table meant for arts and crafts. Generally, the scent of glue dominated the room.

 

It didn’t take long for Shiro to be left alone. The boss had told him the kids would be arriving in fifteen minutes, which would be enough time to prepare everything he needed to. Shiro didn’t care that he didn’t know where to go and what to do. His eyes were sparkling with happiness, letting out an excited chuckle. Why hadn’t he done this sooner?

 

He checked several drawers and cabins, trying his best to become acquainted with his workspace. He spotted a binder, possibly the one the boss was talking about. He clumsily took it and sat down in the teacher’s chair, skimming through the pages. It revealed general information about the class, the individual children, structures of days and themes to work by. Apparently, today they were starting the theme ‘vehicles’.

 

When he was done reading through the general content of it, he checked the children’s pages. It was a class of twenty children, which was a beautiful amount to work with. One name, however, struck him as rather familiar. He smiled looking at it.

 

“UNCLE SHIWOOO!!” It suddenly sounded through the classroom. When he glanced up, he let out an audible laugh. A small boy waddled his way to him, soundly giggling as Shiro crouched down to meet the kid.

 

“What do we have here?” Shiro said with joy in his voice. “No, it can’t be. Where did you leave my small baby nephew? Maybe he’s hidden somewhere in there.” Shiro peeked inside the child’s sleeve, acting as if he was searching for someone. “Keeiith! Where aaaaaare you?”

 

The kid started laughing even louder, his unusual purple eyes sparkling as he started jumping. “I’m here!!!” he giggled, a blush on his cheeks. “Shiwoo, what are you doing in my classroom?”

 

A lower voice from behind Keith started speaking. “I told you, didn’t I? Shiro’s your teacher now.” Keith’s face turned to the brightest smile he’d possibly ever seen. Shiro looked up, recognising that voice immediately. He rose to his feet again, giving his brother a pat on the back.

 

“Good to see you again, Aiden,” he greeted him. His brother was a tall, firm guy with short, dark brown hair who was somewhere in his 30s. He had a chiseled jawline which was quite stubbly. His chapped lips displayed a familiar, crooked smile.

 

“Same to you, bro,” he replied in a heavy Texan accent. Shiro thought the contrast between his nearly accentless speech and his brother was amusing. It was probably because of their different fathers. “How’s life rollin’ for ya?”

 

“Good,” Shiro answered, chuckling as he noticed Keith was tugging at his pants. He ruffled through his black hair, causing the child to giggle. “It’s weird not having you guys around.”

 

“We’ll come over soon,” Aiden promised, smiling at the sight of his son and brother. He wanted to continue talking, but he got interrupted by a jumping Keith.

 

“Shiwo, Shiwo! How is Kuwo doing? I miss kuwo thiiiiiis much!” He stretched his arms out as far as he could, almost losing his balance in the process. Shiro almost melted on the spot.

 

He crouched down to Keith’s height. “Kuro’s doing amazing, but she told me she misses you. She really wants to play ball with you again.”  Keith’s bottom lip turned into a pout, causing Shiro to give him a pat on the shoulder.

 

“Don’t worry kiddo. You can always drop by with dad,” he assured, giving a warm smile that brightened his expression.

 

Shiro felt Aiden’s hand on his shoulder. “Good luck, man,” he chuckled. “Keith, daddy’s gotta go. Promise to watch uncle Shiro, alright?”

 

Keith ran up to his father and flew into his arms. “I pwomise!” He gave his father a kiss on the cheek before he started waving. “Bye bye!”

 

Shiro laughed, giving Aiden a short wave as he left the classroom. He expected it to be quiet, but as soon as the door fell shut, Keith started rambling about any topic coming to mind: from his cat eating potato chips, to that video game he played all weekend. There was no stopping him, so instead of silencing him, Shiro brought him with him to the storage space to get ready for the day.

 

Keith was one of those kids who seemed to be the really quiet types on first sight. Shiro recalled how much effort he had to put in to let the child be comfortable around him. Slowly, he loosened up around him. The seemingly shy kid turned into a ball of energy, one that didn’t stop once he started. It was endearing to see. He strutted through the hallways with pride, showing Shiro different rooms and telling him about his favorite toys as they passed them.

 

While the two of them were busy readying everything, the children slowly started streaming in. He introduced himself as the new teacher and made small talk with the parents, before turning to the children and welcoming them. He noticed that every time a new kid came in, the smile on Keith’s face faded bit by bit. Instead, he had formed a stubborn pout as he hid behind Shiro’s leg. Poor thing.

 

While Shiro was perfectly able to make conversation with the parents, he still wondered where his co-worker was. Wasn’t she supposed to be here already?

 

The children were playing and showing their parents their crafts when the school bell rang. They said goodbye to their children, and when all of them left, Shiro spotted how all of them had already formed a circle on the ground. Keith was staring at Shiro, raising his thumb. He smiled at the kid.

 

He decided it would be best to start off by introducing himself. He stepped into the circle and sat down on the empty spot the kids left for him.

 

“Good morning everybody,” Shiro started. The children all chanted a “good morning” back. “I’m Shiro and I’ll be your new teacher.”

 

One of the children rose their hand within the blink of an eye. Shiro wasn’t sure whether they were a boy or a girl, but they looked cute nonetheless. The glasses sitting on their nose were big, meaning they had to constantly adjust them. Their dark blonde hair was puffy and cut in a bobline, dressed in dungarees and a green shirt.

 

“Yes-”

 

“What happened to your arm, mysterious new teacher? And where is ms. Allura? How come there’s a scar on your nose? And why did you become a teacher? How old are you? Do you have pets? Do you have children yourse-”

 

“Pidge, could you please give your new teacher some time to answer?” A woman spoke in a British accent.

 

Shiro glanced up to find the source of the voice standing in the doorway. His breath choked in his throat as he took in the gorgeous, nearly enchanting figure of a young woman. Her unusual, sky blue eyes seemed to hold him captive, as they didn’t let him divert his gaze for one second. Her dark, youthful face contrasted highly with her shiny, silver clouds of curly hair. He felt his face warm up as his heart stuttered in his chest.

 

The child pouted stubbornly, muttering a “yes ms. Allura”.

 

Shiro silently thanked the child for breaking him out of his haze. He looked over at them and chuckled at their stubborn pout, proceeding to ask the kids to make room for his co-worker. As soon as she sat down, Shiro started answering some of Pidge’s questions. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to tell a bunch of kids that he got wounded while in the military. He’d rather not think about it.

 

“Well, I’m twenty-six years old, I don’t have kids but I do have a nephew I’m really close with,” he winked at Keith. “And I became a teacher because I love children. I also have a dog called Kuro.”

 

Without even asking, his little nephew started talking. “Kuwo is a weally weally big dog! He’s my best fwiend,” Keith spoke, proudly puffing out his chest. Among sounds of awe, a dramatic groan came from the group of children.

 

A little Latino boy crossed his arms, his lips in a pout. His dark-brown hair was fuzzy and pointing in all directions, even though it was quite short. “Yeah, yeah, Keef, you’re cool because you know the new teacher,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes. Shiro was astounded at the level of cockiness a child could have. “Now shut your quiznack!”

 

“Lance,” Allura spoke, sounding like she could become angry any second. “Be nice to your fellow classmate.”  


The little boy threw his hands up in the air and huffed in disagreement. Shiro hid a chuckle behind his hand. What a kid.

 

Another child rose his hand, timidly. He was quite a chubby child, had longer, dark brown hair and was wearing a yellow onesie with the pattern of lions on it. “H-hello mister Shiro? I-I uh… have a q-question I’d like to ask...” His voice became softer, and completely died away when it ended. On his cheeks appeared a red blush.

 

Shiro smiled gently as he turned to him. “Ask away.”

 

“Uhm… M-My name’s Hunk and… uh... I w-wondered what your favorite color... is…”

 

Shiro gave Hunk an encouraging smile. “Well Hunk, my favorite color is purple. Can I guess yours?” Hunks eyes seemed to widen as he said that, and within an instant, he nodded. “I think  it’s yellow.”

 

His insecure expression immediately changed to one of disbelief. “H-How did you know that? Are you a wizard?!”

 

Shiro let out an audible laugh. “It was a wild guess,” he replied, shrugging.

 

Apparently, the children were so amazed by his guessing capabilities that they couldn’t stay silent.   
  
“Shiwo! Guess my color!” a grumpy looking kid in black and orange overalls called out. The left arm of the overall was redesigned into a puffy big mechanic arm, and he wore glasses that were blacked out on the right side and painted a glowing orange. Shiro would have to ask his co-worker about the kid’s background later.

 

“NO! ME FIRST!” the Lance kid shouted, getting to his feet.

 

The other children wanted attention from him too, and they all called out or tried to get his attention by waving their hands in the air and getting to their feet. Except for Keith. He sat silently, pouting as his gaze flitted between Lance and Shiro. He looked like he wanted to crawl into Shiro’s arms and stay there for the rest of the day.

 

“Alright, alright, that was enough time to get to know Shiro,” Allura tried to silence the bunch. Slowly, all the happy chitter chatter died away, instead directing their attention to Allura. Shiro was amazed at how well she dealt with the children, and how fast they got back in their sitting positions on the floor. “It is time for a new theme, as you all know. The coming weeks we will be talking about vehicles!”

  


**.......::::Voltron::::.......**

  
  


The workday passed faster than Shiro anticipated. Having Allura as his co-worker was nice, considering she was quite an assertive person with a strong will. The kids knew this, of course, so they knew exactly what was and what wasn't tolerable. It gave harmony to the classroom, if it weren't for Lance and Keith.  
  
Now these two were the rascals, especially Lance. Whenever Keith did something, whether it was playing or simply going to the bathroom, Lance had to somehow one-up him. Keith became more stoic than ever, like he always did when something (or someone) was bothering him.   
  
At some point of the day, Keith had grabbed a toy that Lance previously played with. Immediately, the other had dropped his current toys and started tugging on the poor lion plushie.   
  
"KEEF!" Lance had exclaimed in his loudest voice, pulling harder and harder. Keith, however, was the stronger one. "I was using this toy!"   
  
"No you wewen't.You wew playing with the building blocks," Keith stubbornly retorted, somehow still keeping a certain level of restraint.

 

  
  
Shiro wanted to interfere between the two, considering fights like this needed to be solved. When he wanted to walk up to the two, though, Allura had stopped him in his tracks by holding her arm in front of him. He stared down at it, then up into her face and momentarily forgot where he was. All he could seem to register was that little smile and that amused spark in her eyes.   
  
"Let them do it themselves," Allura spoke, glancing at Shiro. "They can learn from this." She let out a small chuckle. "Besides, they do this all the time. It gets tiring to correct them after a while."   
  
Shiro was taken aback by the sudden comment, and with a light blush and a faint smile, he sat down again, continuing to observe the pair. He felt his heart racing in his chest as he replayed that lovely sound of her chuckle in his head. Dear lord he was screwed.

 

The sound of tearing fabric tore him out of his thoughts, and he looked over in time to see Lance let go of the lion plushie and leave it in the hands of Keith.

 

“Allura! Keith ruined the lion!” Lance called out as she had her back to them when it happened. He had obviously not realized Shiro was watching. Allura turned around to look at them. Surely she would know Keith was not the only one involved here.

 

“Keith. Did you rip that lion?” Allura asked. Keith didn’t reply. He sat, silently staring at the plushie in his hands.

 

Allura waited for a reply that never came. She sighed and told Keith to go sit in the corner for his behaviour.   
  
Shiro saw the silent tears in Keith’s eyes. They did not fall, but they were there. He got up from the floor, still clutching the red lion in his hands and sat down in the corner with his back to the room.

 

Shiro threw a disappointed look in Lance’s direction. the little boy caught it and realized Shiro had seen what had happened, and the little cocky smirk the kid was wearing slowly fell away. Allura caught onto this and turned to look in Shiro’s direction.

 

“Shiro?” she questioned.

 

“Lance, do you have something you’d like to say?” Shiro directed towards the kid. The boy looked to the floor with a pout. “Lance?” he prompted and the boy’s shoulders slumped.

 

“It was my fault too,” he murmured. Allura looked at him in surprise and seemed to mentally put puzzle pieces in place.

 

“Lance. this isn’t the first time you’ve done this, is it?” she asked. The boy hesitated before shaking his head slowly.

 

Allura sighed. She bit her bottom lip as she seemed to think back.

 

She sat down and reached out a hand to touch Lance’s shoulder.

 

“You should go apologize to Keith. Try think of how he feels. Do you think that’s a nice feeling?”

 

Lance’s wide eyes met hers and he shook his head once he gave it a little thought.

 

“Go on then, apologize,” she nodded in Keith’s direction. The kid was still sitting in the corner.

 

The little boy nodded and made his way over. Allura moved over to sit by Shiro’s side, watching the two in the corner.

 

“I also have some apologizing to do,” she said. “I should have realized this sooner really. It’s just that Keith always seemed so guilty, and he never defended himself,” she sighed.

 

“He’s a very reserved kid when he feels uncomfortable. He had a bad experience when he was younger, and doesn’t take well to being reprimanded. He usually avoids all situations where he thinks someone will be unhappy with him. I sometimes forget how shy he is, because he’s not like that with me. He’s actually quite the energetic kid,” Shiro smiled at the thought of the bubbly little kid talking excitedly about everything and anything.

 

His smile faltered when he thought of how scared the little child had been when he’d mistakenly been left alone with Shiro’s dad. The man hadn’t been very good to begin with, but his last years had been far worse. The man had been sick, and acted outright cruelly. Keith had accidentally caused a mug to fall to the floor, shattering it into small pieces. The man had been filled with such anger and hostility, Keith had been scared into muteness for weeks. Shiro had intercepted them before the old man had gotten his hands on the kid, thankfully. But it had not been soon enough. The kid had been affected by the situation ever since. It was less obvious now, but Shiro would always know why his nephew was so reserved, and it hurt to know he could have prevented it all.

 

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his mind, and he looked into those captivating blue eyes Allura directed at him.

 

“I realize there’s something here I was not aware of. I will make sure this does not happen again,” she said with a worried smile. Shiro nodded in relief and looked over at the corner where Lance was sitting beside Keith, talking in hushed voices. He was surprised the kid managed to talk quietly.

 

Then, out of nowhere, Lance dug into one of his pockets and pulled out a cute little blue hairbow. It was one of those hairclip bows, Shiro realized.

 

Lance held it in his hand and spoke to Keith, and the other kid’s eyes widened as he nodded. A little shy smile came on his face as Lance reached forward to put the little bow in his hair.

 

Lance took Keith’s hand and dragged him over to Shiro and Allura. Keith still clutched the ripped lion to his chest with his free hand, and still looked worried, but was a tiny bit more open now.

 

Allura was amazed at the change in the little boy, and gave the two of them all of her attention.

 

“We’re married now!” Lance exclaimed loudly with a determined expression on his face. Keith was looking at him in shocked silence.

 

Shiro and Allura exchanged wide eyed looks  at the outburst, and the kids around them had stopped what they were doing to look at the two. Keith realized this and shuffled closer to Lance in an attempt to hide.

 

“That… is wonderful!” Allura let out and had problems keeping herself from laughing. Shiro was struggling not to laugh himself, and tried his best not to let it out as he smiled brightly at them.

 

Lance grinned in return and dragged keith with him to go play.

 

The two co-workers looked at each other and burst into small giggles.

 

This was the best first day of work Shiro could ever have hoped for, and he found himself wishing that every day could be like this. And perhaps, considering he was going to work here for a while, the days would all be like this from now on.

 

A bright smile took over his features and he felt happiness bubble in his chest. This was indeed a good day.

 

 

 


	2. author's note

hello!

I am sorry this is not an update.   
to be quite honest, we have had a lot of trouble with motivation and inspiration for this fic.   
with no feedback or anything that indicates people are interested, it kind of feels useless to spend so much time writing.   
therefore I'd like to know if there is any interest at all?  
I have written some for the next chapter, but I came to a part where I got stuck and when no interest were shown... well, the creative flow gradually vanished.   
please, if you're interested at all, let me know? maybe I can muster up some motivation for it?

thank you for your attention, and I hope you have a wonderful day! <3

**Author's Note:**

> My sister made art inspired by the idea of this fic! And so we have incorporated a few scenes inspired by her art! more to come later.  
> meanwhile, please go give her some love!!  
> https://ayhiroshi.tumblr.com/post/159797683613/art-for-the-healing-properties-of-color-i


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